


The Fires of Hell

by MimiWritesHerFandoms



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Lots of Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22856188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MimiWritesHerFandoms/pseuds/MimiWritesHerFandoms
Summary: Wanda can not move on.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	The Fires of Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Set immediately after Tony’s funeral in Endgame.

The rage in her soul burned dark, filling her with a hatred so deep it was a pulsing ache in her being. She stepped through the portal, her eyes darting about, looking for the one she intended to end.

Thanos.

He would pay for what he had done. Pay with his life. Nothing else would suffice.

* * *

“Wanda?”

She turned from the water, tearing her eyes away from the flowers floating on the waves. She thought she should cry, thought she should feel something, but everything inside of her was numb, dead. She had no more tears to shed.

Sam’s hand on her back was a comforting weight, one she didn’t want or need. She forced herself to be still, to not shrug off the comfort he offered.

“Sam,” she murmured. “How are you?”

“I should be asking you that question,” he said.

Wanda turned away from him, shrugging and shaking her head, refusing to meet his eyes. “I wouldn’t answer you if you did.”

Sam sighed heavily, the sound hurting her heart. She swallowed down the pain, let the anger and the fury back in, let it flood her being, let it take her over. It was easier that way, easier to live with the anger than to let it go.

“Have you talked to Steve?” Sam asked.

“Until I’m nauseous,” she whispered. “I don’t want to talk to him anymore.”

“He’s just trying to help -”

“Nothing helps, Sam,” she snapped. “Nothing will ever help.” She spun on her heel and walked away.

Hours later she emerged from the woods where she’d gone to hide, to think, to mourn. It was hard for those around her to remember that more than five years had passed for them, while for her it had been only days since Vision’s death, days since her world had fallen apart around her. She thought maybe Bucky understood, but she wasn’t sure he  _ really _ understood. After all, he had not held the dead body of someone he loved while crumbling to dust.

She followed the sound of voices to the back of the house. Bucky, Sam, and Steve stood off to one side of a small fire and across from them were Scott, Clint, and Bruce. She contemplated going inside, avoiding any kind of confrontation, avoiding the necessity to communicate with anyone, but she found herself walking toward them as if she were drawn to them. She stopped next to the fire, her hands held out to warm them.

She didn’t talk, just listened to the voices of her friends surrounding her. She had no idea how long she stood there, people coming and going, speaking to her, though she didn’t answer, or if she did, she didn’t remember doing so.

“Wanda?”

“Are you going to lecture me some more, Steve? Tell me to move on? Give me advice I don’t need? I think I’ve heard enough of that from you and everyone else the last few days.”

“No one is saying you have to move on, Wanda,” Steve sighed. “We just want to help.” 

“I know, but has it occurred to you, to any of you, that I don’t want help?”

Steve wrapped an arm around Wanda’s shoulders and gave her a clumsy hug. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry, Wanda. I really am.” 

He turned and walked back up the path leading to Pepper and Tony’s house. Over his shoulder, Wanda could see Bucky and Sam waiting on the wraparound porch. They looked back at her before going inside.

Wanda turned back to the fire. She held her hands out, watching as the red flames danced over them, mimicking the fire burning at her feet. She smiled, took a deep breath, and then, she vanished. 


End file.
